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Posted on January 4, 2020January 4, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope The Journey of Faith – A Homily for Epiphany There are so many wonderful details in the Epiphany story: the call of the Gentiles, their enthusiastic response, the significance of the star they seek, the gifts they bring, the dramatic interaction with Herod, and their ultimate rejection of Herod in favor of Christ.In this meditation, I would like to follow these Magi in their journey of faith to become “Wise Men.” As magi, they followed the faint stars, distant points of light; as wise men, they follow Jesus,...

She trotted out these dubious accusations during an interview on PBS’s “NewsHour” in which host host Judy Woodruff challenged none of her claims — and in which she, Pelosi, had a facial mask hanging off her neck as if she were a cowboy. The claims began pouring out of the speaker after Woodruff asked her to cite the factors that have been “impeding the ability of the federal government to address this” crisis. . . . “I have tried to act in a bipartisan way,” the speaker continued Tuesday. “As I said, three bills in March, bipartisan. Easter, I had...

“The Apostolic Witness and the Prophetic Word” (2 Peter 1:16-21) “Cleverly devised myths.” That’s what we Christians are accused of believing. All that stuff about Jesus Christ being the Son of God and the only Savior of the world? “Just a bunch of fables, fairy tales, myths.” But then this is nothing new. Even back in the first century, Christians were ridiculed for believing the same thing. People said they were falling for a bunch of poppycock, fables and fairy tales. St. Peter refers to this in our epistle for today when he writes, “For we did not follow cleverly...

“Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son” (Matthew 3:13-17) On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel reading every year is the account of the Baptism of Our Lord. That was the great event when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The heavens were opened. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. And the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Today I want to say three things about this event, three things on which your...

A story for EpiphanyOther formats for download may be found at Gutenberg.org

“The Worship of the Wise Men” (Matthew 2:1-12) Today is the Epiphany of Our Lord. It is a major festival of the church year, and it always falls on January 6--much like Christmas always falls on December 25, regardless of the day of the week. Epiphany likewise is a fixed-date festival, and that’s why we’re here today. Actually, we’re here today not merely out of strict adherence to an ancient tradition--although there’s something to be said for sticking to ancient traditions unless and until you have a good reason not to. No, we are here today because God wants to...

January 5 2020 The Epiphany of the Lord Reading 1 1 is 60:1-6 Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.Then you shall be radiant at what you...

“Many Members, One Body” (1 Corinthians 12:12-31a)I’m sure most of you have heard the children’s nursery song that goes like this: Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! And eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! This is a cute little song that teaches the child the various parts of his or her body. But that’s the understood assumption, namely, that all these body parts go together and are meant to work together in that child’s body. It’s not like these various body...

Have You Ever Really Seen the Stars? Msgr. Charles Pope • January 6, 2019 • One of the central elements in the Epiphany story is the star. There are numerous theories as to what exactly it was. It may not have been a star at all, but Jupiter or Saturn, which are said to have come quite close to Earth around the year 6 B.C. I thought of that the other day because Jupiter is currently bright in the southeastern sky a couple of hours before sunrise along the East Coast of the U.S. With high-powered binoculars one can...

The Journey of Faith – A Homily for the Feast of Epiphany Msgr. Charles Pope • January 5, 2019 • There are so many wonderful details in the Epiphany story: the call of the Gentiles, their enthusiastic response, the significance of the star they seek, the gifts they bring, the dramatic interaction with Herod, and their ultimate rejection of Herod in favor of Christ.In this meditation, I would like to follow these Magi in their journey of faith to become “Wise Men.” As magi, they followed the faint stars, distant points of light; as wise men, they follow Jesus,...

“Finding Jesus: A Joyous Epiphany” (Matthew 2:1-12) Today is January 6, and that means today is Epiphany. The Epiphany of Our Lord is a major festival in the church year, a big one, almost on a par with Christmas. And, like Christmas, Epiphany is a fixed-date festival, meaning it always falls on the same date, regardless of the day of the week. So most years we celebrate Epiphany with a special service on a day other than Sunday, and we have to make a special effort to get here. But this year January 6 happens to fall on a Sunday,...

January 6 2019 The Epiphany of the Lord Reading 1 Is 60:1-6 Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,the glory of the Lord shines upon you.See, darkness covers the earth,and thick clouds cover the peoples;but upon you the LORD shines,and over you appears his glory.Nations shall walk by your light,and kings by your shining radiance.Raise your eyes and look about;they all gather and come to you:your sons come from afar,and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see,your heart shall throb and overflow,for the riches of the sea...

We Three Kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. In ancient texts of Scripture the Wise Men are Magoi in Greek and Magi in Latin. The singular form, Magos/Magus, is the source of our English word “magician” but had multiple meanings in Biblical times....

The song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. To fit the number scheme, when you reach number 9, representing the Fruits of the Holy Ghost, the originator combined...

I was shocked reading this column (non-paywalled version here) appearing today in the New York Times, written by a true NeverTrump conservative, Bret Stephens. ... After briefly excoriating Trump for running on “fear” instead of basking in his accomplishments (which contradicts the political wisdom that voters rarely vote out of gratitude), Stephens gets to the nub of his semi-confession: Trump is really smart. Of course, he has to present that revelation in disparaging terms, but it is a couple of steps better than “Trump is an idiot.” The mystery of Donald Trump is what impels him to overturn the usual...

I have long been critical of Republicans who abandoned principles to stand with Trump and I am as critical of Republicans who abandon principles to oppose Trump. Principle should stay because people go. The Kavanaugh nomination has been clarifying in this regard. Seeing some conservatives willing to aid and abet character assassins because Trump nominated Kavanaugh is disgusting. I find myself in an odd position where, for the first time, I see myself, one of the original so-called “Never Trump conservatives,” voting for President Trump in 2020. I have inevitably concluded at times that Trump would do something to push...

New York Times columnist and Never Trump conservative Bret Stephens felt the wrath of Twitter Thursday after he penned a column in appreciation of the president for standing up to the Democrats’ “sly moral bullying” of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. “For the first time since Donald Trump entered the political fray, I find myself grateful that he’s in it,” Mr. Stephens wrote. “I’m grateful because Trump has not backed down in the face of the slipperiness, hypocrisy and dangerous standard-setting deployed by opponents of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” he continued. Mr. Stephens even criticized...

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By KrisAnne Hall, JD Right up front, there are some things that I need to tell you about myself. I want you to know where I came from and how I got to where I am today — my walkaway path. I don’t want to ever be accused of deception or dishonesty. So, in full disclosure: I was not born a Constitutionalist. I did not live my life with an inherent understanding of Liberty and what is necessary to defend it. I was not raised a Christian. For some, these things will be a stumbling block, so you need to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pjs7uoOkag&feature=youtu.be #WalkAway Campaign- WHY I LEFT LIBERALISM & THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY A comment from below the video: Sheron Evans “Actually..............this has been the democratic party from the start. Watch Dinesh D'Souza's last movie. The History of the Democratic Party. They were and are the party of racism and KKK. And now it has grown even worse. They are almost as bad if not worse than the mob. I heard someone say the other day that many republicans are afraid to run for office and their families don't want them to because of the things the democratic party does to those...